


Musings On The Practice Of Wearing Clothing

by MerelyJamieMerelyWriting



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fantasy Peeping Tom, Helpful Cole (Dragon Age), M/M, Masturbation, Multi, POV Cole (Dragon Age), Psychic Eavesdropping, Spirit Cole (Dragon Age), Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 15:12:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11739657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerelyJamieMerelyWriting/pseuds/MerelyJamieMerelyWriting
Summary: Cole caught a faint glimpse of a brunette mage with blood on her face, could see the slow teasing slip of silk pooling at the delicate wrist caught at the last moment before hitting the stone floor, he tasted the hint of ale and cinnamon on her breath.  He blinked hard and swallowed as the sensations rolled into him off the curve of Varric's slow smirk and deep chuckle."Kid, half the fun is when you're taking them off."[That fic where Cole just wants to know why people even wear clothes if all they want to do is take them off of each other so he stalks them to educate himself on their weird human quirks.]





	Musings On The Practice Of Wearing Clothing

          Skyhold was massive, sprawling across acres and littered with dark nooks and crannies for normal people to hide in-nevermind Cole.  He'd flitted around at the beginning, dodging eyes behind pillars or a conveniently placed larger person, but as time had gone on he had slowly become more accustomed to the sudden shivery feeling of someone seeing him clearly.

          The cacophony of other people's thoughts crashing around in his head had slowly come into a semblance of order, the deluge lessening down to a steady trickle that he could direct and even tune out if needed.  He was able to pick out the different threads of being his companions left trailing around behind them, getting better and better at honing in on a location and appearing silently without startling anyone.

          He was trying to get the hang of another concept that seemed to be incredibly easy to him to improve upon, but that everyone else seemed to have some kind of aversion to.

          He slowly drifted into perceptibility in the peripheral vision of Varric and pondered softly, knowing Varric would hear him.  "If all they seek to do is take them off, why bother putting them on at all?"

          Varric's shoulder twitched slightly in mild surprise, he still wasn't used to the kid being more in control of his spirit abilities and Cole could sense his deeply rooted unease but also his desire to continue treating Cole as a person.  Cole actually appreciated the way Varric treated him, it was a novelty that he was attempting to get the others to mirror.

          Varric glanced up at Cole's face under the brim of that enormous floppy hat he loved to wear and followed his gaze to where Inquisitor Lavellen was tucking a strand of Sera's hair behind her ear with a playful smile while Sera stared across the way at Iron Bull thoughtfully nibbling on her lip.  He found the sweet rocking cadence of Cole's riddle-like pattern of speech soothing, finding more and more that he enjoyed figuring out the answers to the little puzzles.

          Varric laughed under his breath, eyes lighting up with humor as it dawned on him.  "Always surprising me, the things you pick up on.  You're talking about their clothes, yeah?"

          "They spend so much of their time envisioning them coming off, would it not be simpler if everyone just did away with them altogether?"  The innocence and confusion in Cole's voice made it impossible to take him seriously and yet if Varric didn't explain he would never learn.

          Cole caught a faint glimpse of a brunette mage with blood on her face, could see the slow teasing slip of silk pooling at the delicate wrist caught at the last moment before hitting the stone floor, he tasted the hint of ale and cinnamon on her breath.  He blinked hard and swallowed as the sensations rolled into him off the curve of Varric's slow smirk and deep chuckle.

          "Kid, half the fun is when you're taking them off."  Varric narrowed his eyes at Iron Bull, who seemed to be aware of the attention he was getting from across the room and was preening ever so slightly as he hit each of his marks in the Pillars of Strength.  "People like the unknown, the raw potential of a new acquaintance, the 'will we or won't we' dance that makes the days pass and my books sell.  People like to wonder about a lot of things, from the relative safety of their own mind.  People, however, do not like to be vulnerable.  Hence, clothing.  The shield we use to hide our less charming parts and to sneak our way past each others' defenses."

          Varric leaned forward on his elbows, contentedly waiting for Cole to finish pondering his words and respond.  Cole twisted his long delicate fingers in the hem of his tunic and thought hard about what Varric had revealed to him.  Through the visions, he understood the anticipation was key.  The unrelenting need to know what lies beneath offending cloth heightens the intensity of the intriguingly pleasant feelings.  From his words, Cole also gleaned that it wasn't so much the act of seeing other people naked that kept people's clothes on but the concern about other people seeing them without their own clothes  that kept the social norm prevalent.

          "But you're all so beautiful inside," Cole whispered, eyes drifting shut as his hands danced through the air and pushed the mental cobwebs aside to look at the beautiful shining cores of his companions.  There was honor, duty, love, humor, wisdom, and kindness. "Why would you be afraid to let people see you without the clutter?"

          Varric shifted uncomfortably, before grumbling as good-naturedly as he could muster.  "Well Kid, I think you may be the only one who can actually see what you're talking about.  People don't see the good in themselves so they don't expect anyone else to see it in them either."

          Before Varric could take a breath to continue, a cool hand came down gently on his shoulder.  The hand squeezed reassuringly before a voice that seemed more in his head than out loud said earnestly, "Very kind Varric, you are a true friend, and you shine very brightly in my vision."  
 Cole floated away on the spring breeze, thinking intently on this new knowledge.

***********

          Cole drifted from person to person in Skyhold, always out of view and always listening.  Sera had become a favorite of his to shadow, he had to be careful though because she was afraid of him.  She thought so loudly and creatively, it was easiest to pick the sensations off of her.

          He knelt inside her cupboard at present, nestled in between a pair of thigh high brown suede boots and a bright red short tunic.  She was standing at the window and looking down on the training grounds.  Her thoughts began innocently enough, he saw in her mind the sparring match that was going on between Zaerithe and Iron Bull and felt her agile mind noticing the individual moves and adapting them into her own self taught style.

          Slowly the thoughts began to shine slightly brighter than before, Cole had come to recognize that as a sign that the thought was leaving reality.  He closed his eyes and immersed himself in her daydream, trying once more to understand how to help his friends relieve the tensions plaguing them.

          Sweat dripped down tanned and freckled skin, running down between delicate shoulder blades and into the small divot in the small of the Inquisitor's back as she spun and twirled with the natural grace of the Elvhen.  Her musculature was well defined and tight, not adding much bulk to her frame but giving her a solidity that made Sera's skin shimmer with golden want in his minds eye.

          The next thing he saw in detail was Iron Bull's intimidatingly large horns with Sera's nimble fingers wrapped securely around them, his face obscured between her squirming thighs.  The vision skipped forward a beat and it took Cole a second to sort out all of the heady sensations.  One of Sera's hands uncurled from around the horn to flail up onto Zaerithe's hip, tugging her kneeling form closer so that she could twirl her tongue around her clit.  Cole felt an unfamiliar wet feeling rush into his mouth and licked his lips distractedly, he could almost taste the subtle musky heavy flavor on his tongue.

          Sera's controlling grip softened and her fingers trailed down the curve of Zaerithe's ass, giving it a quick squeeze before slipping around to where her tongue was pressing insistently into her and adding a wicked finger into the mix.  The Inquisitor tipped forward on her knees with a keening helpless noise that made Sera's entire daydream tint golden with arousal and caught herself on Iron Bull's free horn, pressing him even more firmly between Sera's legs.

          The dream skittered forward, less in control now that Sera was excited. Flashes of moans and warmth and tongues filled Cole's mind before a crystal clear image of Iron Bull rearing back and pulling Zaerithe, facing Sera, down onto his cock between them made Cole's breath catch in his throat.

          The dream stopped abruptly and Sera spun to stare at the cupboard suspiciously.  Cole was already drifting away unseen, thinking hard on the intensity of Sera's desire.

*****

          Dorian sat at the chess table, alone for once, unable to see Cole sitting invisibly in the chair opposite him.  He was musing in frustration about the last match he'd played against Cullen.  He seemed to be convinced that Cullen had been trying to distract him on purpose but he seemed to be equally convinced that he was insane.  Cole got a three second glimpse at a memory of Cullen unclasping the feather armor plate and a detailed vision of the feathers sliding over his skin on their way to the ground before the golden shimmer of the fantasy took over.

          Dream Dorian smirked confidently at featherless Cullen and crawled up onto the chess table, sending all the chess pieces flying and settling in front of him with a foot propped up on either arm rest.  He leaned his elbows on his thighs and took hold of Cullen's chin, smirking and pressing a firm kiss to his lips.  Cole smiled at the directness, Dorian's fantasies always began with a very honest declaration of his intentions.

          Cole was surprised when Dorian stood up, moving towards a part of the castle he hadn't seen him in yet.  He was moving quickly enough that Cole was zooming alongside of him, more following the golden trail than his actual body.  When they stopped moving Cole found himself in a lavish looking study that someone had put an enormous four poster canopy bed in as well as a rather large clawfoot bathtub.  One full wall was filled with shelves upon shelves of books.  Cole had always wondered where Dorian slept, he'd imagined something along these lines.

          Cole watched curiously as Dorian cast an ice spell at the tub quickly followed by a fire spell to melt the water and heat it.  The golden shimmer grew more solid as he stepped into the warm water and Cole closed his eyes to immerse himself in the fantasy.

          In the dream, Dorian and Cullen were having a heated discussion in Dorian's bedroom about the previous chess match.  Dorian accused Cullen of teasing him to gain the advantage and Cole felt it in his own cheeks when Cullen's cheeks heated up.  Cole watched as Cullen stammered and tried to walk away only to have Dorian catch his hand and spin him around.  Cole could feel Cullen's vice grip on his wrist where Cullen had stopped Dorian from clasping the side of his face as he'd intended.

          The mage smirked, raw unbridled energy crackling around him like lightning as he shoved himself into Cullen's space, pushing him back until Cole could feel the cold rough stone of the wall digging into his shoulder blades.

          "Tell me no, I dare you. Do you know why?  Cause I don't think you can, I think you're exactly where you want to be and that terrifies you."

          Dorian's voice seems to vibrate in Cole's skull, the words buzz over skin tinged pink with excitement and trepidation.  Cole feels Dorian's fierce satisfaction as he breathes in the scent of Cullen's leathers and Cullen's tongue darts out to wet his lip in anticipation.

          "You're rig-mmph!" 

          The words had barely left Cullen's lips before Dorian was shoving them right back into them, knocking Cullen's head against the wall hard enough to make Cole wince.

          Cole's eyes startled open and he nearly became visible when a small splash came from the tub and a shaky moan, loud outside the confines of their minds, split the air.  He looked down at Dorian in great interest as he noticed that Dorian's eyes were still shut and a glance into the fantasy revealed a very eager and responsive Cullen was currently occupying Dorian's subconscious.

          Dorian's slightly sparking fingers were wrapped loosely around his cock in the murky bath water, his head tilted back with his mouth hanging just slightly agape.  Cole's eyes widened and he bit his lip as a blush spread over his real cheeks.  Intruding on someone's fantasies was one thing, he couldn't help hearing most of what people thought anyways so he could probably get away with it, but actually physically being in the room while they did something so intimate felt like it was crossing a more definite line.

          Cole started to reluctantly float up through the ceiling but when Dorian gasped lightly and splashed again, Cole felt like lightning had hit his hands and was running through his fingertips.  He changed course and drifted into the wardrobe as he felt his visibility threaten to come back again.  He bit his lip, he needed to know what was going to happen.  Maybe this was what humans did to make everything feel slightly better when they were alone.

          Dorian groaned again and Cole watched his right hand slide up his shaft firmly as the left hand dipped down between his legs further, into the murky depths.  Cole felt like his skin rippled, from his scalp down to his toes, and the feeling of crossing a line came flooding back along with the equally strong heady arousal he'd felt crackling in his fingertips a moment before. He dipped back into the fantasy to put a little makeshift distance between reality and what he'd intended to observe.

          In Dorian's dream, Cullen had thrown him onto the bed  and yanked his armor off roughly if the bruises were an indicator.  Cole watched inquisitively as Cullen trailed his fingers down Dorian's toned stomach and followed the path closely with his mouth a moment later.  The licking, he thought, looked rather strange but when he felt how amazing it felt to Dorian he disregarded his initial harsh judgement.  Dorian grabbed at Cullen's wavy hair, yanking his face down until it bounced off the head of his cock.  Cullen huffed out a good-natured laugh that made Dorian's heart skip a beat in a dream, Cole didn't know what to make of that, before he curved his tongue out to trace the crest of the head and Dorian stopped breathing.

          A loud cry brought Cole back to the wardrobe, he looked out the crack in the door and his mouth went dry.  Dorian's hand was pumping furiously in the water now, squeezing tightly now as the other hand moved steadily under the water.  Cole was pretty sure the second hand was the reason Dorian had cried out originally and he was pretty sure that it was the reason for the loud moan every other harsh exhale but he couldn't see anything anyways.

          "Mmm, Andraste's tits Cullen," Dorian breathed into the silence and Cole followed the sound back into the fantasy.  Cullen was licking a broad stripe up the underside of Dorian's cock and Cole could taste the musky salt of the precum as he pressed the flat of his tongue against the shiny wet head of Dorian's cock.  He felt a split second of the sweet tight suction before he felt the warm golden glow against his skin and opened his eyes again.  

          On the other side of the wardrobe door, Dorian was keening and biting his lip.  Cole noticed abstractly, as he dissolved into the golden glow and washed away with it, that Dorian's hand had stopped moving but his hips were still jerking and his mood did appear to have improved quite a bit. 

          Cole decided he didn't need to rematerialize just yet and continued floating about in the pleasant sensation until something else caught his attention.

**Author's Note:**

> I may write more of this if there's interest, I found it on an old hard drive and I had forgotten how much I loved writing Cole :) He's so precious <3 Lemme know what you think, I live off the scraps of feedback you guys leave me!


End file.
